The magazines presented here are based on
light alloy magazines.For
steel magazines, increase weight by 2%; for plastic or synthetic magazines;
decrease weight by 8 percent.

10.3mm Swiss

Notes:
Originally designed for single-shot target rifles in the late 1800’s, the 10.3mm
Swiss was originally a blackpowder round for a very short time, but quickly
switched over to smokeless powder. A rimmed cartridge, the 10.3mm Swiss is
little more than a very-slightly modified version of the British .450/400 2 3/8”
Blackpowder Express round.(The
Swiss round uses a bit more propellant and a heavier bullet.)The 10.3mm Swiss round is adequate for virtually all North American and
European game, and is also a good man-stopper.The round is primarily still popular in Switzerland and Germany (and in
one isolated Swiss canton, is the only
legal hunting round).The 10.3mm
Swiss is still manufactured in Switzerland and Germany by RWS.

Other Names:
10.3x60Rmm, 10.3x60mm Rimmed

Nominal Size:
10.3x60mm

Actual Size:
10.54x59.94mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 57.53 kg
per case of 1000; Price $1050 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.052 kg

10.75x68mm Mauser

Notes: This is a
magnum Mauser rifle round that was introduced in the early 1920s and is still
listed in RWS catalogs.The round
was also once made by Kynoch of England, and rifles were made by Mauser,
Browning, and Dumoulin for the 10.75x68mm Mauser.Old Western Scrounger and Barnes make bullets for the round.It is a fairly powerful round, but due to the blunt-nosed shape,
penetration is only average.The
round is also a softpoint, and cannot be counted upon to hold together inside
the target; this is another strike against it as far as hunters are concerned
(though it may be a plus when used on people).

Nominal Size:
10.75x68mm

Actual Size:
10.77x67.82mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 77.25 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $1240 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.062 kg

4-round box: 0.51 kg

11mm Gras Smokeless

Notes:Designed by Captain Basile Gras of the French Army, he 11mm Gras was one
of the first smokeless powder rounds; however, being based on a blackpowder
round, the dimensions of the 11mm Gras still approximated the 11mm Gras
blackpowder round.The 11mm Gras
was also one of the last rounds to use a large-caliber bullet in the rifles
designed for it; European rifle design was already trending toward
smaller-caliber rounds in the neighborhood of 6.5-8mm or so.However, the 11mm Gras-firing rifles solved (temporarily) the problem
that to a large extent caused the French loss in the Franco-Prussian War – the
use of a technologically-inferior rifle by the French Army.

The case of the
11mm Gras Smokeless was somewhat improved from its blackpowder counterpart, but
still essentially used a linen cartridge – stiffened with what was basically
papier-mache into a hardened case that could be easily handled by troops, though
inclement weather could melt them if not protected from the elements.The primer was inserted into the further-stiffened base of the round.Though some small amounts of original 11mm Gras Smokeless ammunition come
to the auction circuit every so often, most such rounds are handloaded (and this
quite the handloading project is you use the original case type, so many replace
them with brass).

Other Names:
11mm Gras, 11mm French Gras

Nominal; Size:
11x60mm

Actual Size:
11.3x59.44mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 5.96 kg
per box 0f 100; Price: $238 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.06 kg

8-round box: 0.86 kg

50-round belt: 2.98 kg

12.7mm Russian

Notes:
Originally developed for the abortive Russian DK heavy machinegun in the early
1920s, this round came into its own just before and during World War 2 with its
use in the DShK machinegun and aircraft armament.It is one of the longest-lived round still in use, being used to this day
in helicopter armament and ground weapons like the DShK, NSV, and Kord
machineguns, as well as in several antimaterial and heavy sniping rifles.It is based heavily on the old German 13mm TuF round.The 12.7mm Russian is normally steel cased, but brass cases are becoming
more and more common of late.It
also normally uses corrosive Berdan primers, making long-term storage a problem,
but more modern primers have also become more common lately.Use in sniper and antimaterial rifles is problematic due to accuracy (the
rounds normally available are designed for machineguns and not precision
shooting), but better-qualities rounds are becoming available, as are
Western-made rounds.The standard
ball ammunition is like many Russian rounds: there is a space in front of the
round to aid in balancing of the bullet and increase damage when it hits (and
also reflects the poor method of jacketing in Russian-made bullets).

A steel cored
(or tungsten-cored) armor-piercing (AP) round is available; double all prices
for this round.The Russians are
also making what they are calling “match-quality ammunition” for the 12.7mm
Russian round; it is not up to the quality that Western shooters would call
match quality, but it is better than standard 12.7mm Russian rounds.Triple all prices for this ammunition.

Notes: Designed
specifically for the T-Gew Model 1918 antitank rifle, the 13mm T-Patrone was
later (for a short time) adopted for use on Nazi and pre-Nazi aircraft.The round was effective, for a very short time, against the tanks of the
period, but quickly became obsolete (like most antitank rifle rounds), and was a
better antimateriel and long-range sniping round.Nonetheless, it quickly became a rather rare round, and today is found
only as a rather rare handload, with the rifles and machineguns to fire rarer
still.The 13mm T-Patrone is
essentially a greatly-enlarged version of the 8mm Mauser cartridge, using the
same bullet shape (but not the same bullet); in addition, the 13mm T-Patrone
bullet is a steel-cored AP round.

Other Names:
13x92mmSR T-Patrone, 13x92SR

Nominal Size:
13x92mm (some sources say 13x94mm)

Actual Size:
Unknown

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 13.43 kg
per box of 100; Price: $1222 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.122 kg

13.2mm Hotchkiss

Notes: The
13.2mm Hotchkiss was first used on the M1930 Hotchkiss antiaircraft machinegun
in the inter-war period; however, it was originally designed at an antitank
rifle round, until it became obvious that the round would be ineffective against
even the tanks of the 1920s and 1930s.The round is essentially a modification of the .50 BMG round – necked out
to take the 13.2mm projectile and slightly drawn out.Though there were several users in many European countries, perhaps the
largest user was Japan, where the Hotchkiss machinegun, in anywhere from single
to quad mounts, on almost every Japanese ship of World War 2 and the inter-war
period.Despite the intended use as
an antiarmor weapon, and its arming of several armored cars of the inter-war
period, it’s most common use was in antiaircraft machineguns.The round had the potential to hit hard, and have excellent speed and
range – but was also unstable and this could affect damaging and
armor-penetrating capabilities, as well as range.A proper ground or vehicular mount was never devised, contributing to its
inaccuracy rumors.Dispersion in
bursts was also a problem, again probably due to the instability of the round.Another complaint, this time as an antiaircraft weapon defending land
targets, was that the 13.2mm bullets falling down after missing their targets
could hurt personal and civilians on the ground, and that the round, unlike the
20mm rounds, did not have a self-destruct feature. This contributed to its
primary use on ships. (As a further note, the Finns managed to perfect a 13.2mm
Hotchkiss-firing heavy sniper rifle, but they dropped in favor of the L39 20mm
rifle. However, they had no complaints about the 13.2mm round.)

Other Names:
13.2mm Breda, 13.2mm M1930

Nominal Size:
13.2x99mm

Actual Size:
13.49x99.14mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 155.9 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $7090 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.142 kg

10-round box: 2.47 kg

15-round strip: 2.13 kg

20-round strip: 2.83 kg

20-round box: 4.63 kg

30-round strip: 4.25 kg

30-round box: 6.8 kg

14.5mm KPV

Notes: Like many
such large-caliber rounds of the period, the 14.5mm KPV round was designed in
1941 for antitank rifles, which by then were already obsolete.After World War 2, however, it was picked up for use in a newly-designed
heavy machinegun meant for mounting in armored vehicles – the KPV machinegun.In this role, though ineffective against tanks, it has proven quite
useful against personnel, thin-skinned vehicles, and even some lightly-armored
vehicles.In addition, since the
early 1980s an increasing number of antimaterial rifles have been chambered for
this round. While most Russian, Chinese, and former Pact-made ammunition in this
caliber is made for use in the KPV and is not really of a quality necessary for
sniping, increasingly there are Western or Eastern European companies who are
making quantities of quality 14.5mm ammunition for this purpose.

A steel-cored
(or rarely, tungsten-cored) armor-piercing (AP) version of this round exists;
double all prices for this round.

Notes: This is a
relatively rare round, since it was developed at the beginning of World War 2
and used only for a short period of time as an aircraft gun in early versions of
the Me-109 fighter.An extremely
few small (but rather heavy) arms have been developed over the years which fire
the round, and some companies still manufacture very small lots of it, but it is
still rather rare.It is usually
found these days unbelted, but original lots of the 15mm Mauser were usually
belted for use in aircraft.The
15mm Mauser gun was quickly found to be wanting (at least by the Nazis) as an
aircraft gun, and it was replaced in less than a year as an aircraft gun by
weapons firing 20mm ammunition.The
15mm Mauser was produced in a standard ball version, an armor-piercing version,
a ball tracer, and an AP tracer.AP
versions cost double the standard cost for the 15mm Mauser round.

Other Names:
MG-151/15 (though this is actually the name of the gun which fired it).

Nominal Size:
15x96mm

Actual Size:
Unknown

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 20.1 kg
per box of 100; Price: $848 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.17 kg

16-round box: 4.51 kg

15.2mm Steyr AMR

Notes: This
round has seen a long development period (along with the single weapon designed
to fire it, the Steyr IWS-2000 antimaterial rifle), beginning in 1988.It began as a tungsten-cored 15mm AP round, went to a 14.5mm SLAP round,
and is now a 15.2mm SLAP round.The
case is of conventional brass bottle-necked design, while the sabot is of a
synthetic material.The penetrator
itself is a 5.5mm tungsten dart with an extremely flat trajectory, high
velocity, and developing considerably muzzle and terminal energy.It is capable of penetrating light armored vehicles easily as well as
destroying equipment (and people), and also causes considerable fragmentation
behind the armor plate or item it penetrates.Currently, the fate of the round is tied to the rifle which fires it;
while it is rumored to be used by some special operations units, Steyr is still
finding official sales elusive.

Other Names:
15.2mm IWS-2000

Nominal Size:
15.2x169mm

Actual Size:
16.56x169.91mm (Case and neck)

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 16.5 kg
per box of 100; Price: $3638 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.15 kg

5-round box: 1.47 kg

8-round box: 2.15 kg

10-round box: 2.61 kg

.38-40 Winchester

Notes: This
round was developed way back in 1874 as a blackpowder round.It made the jump to modern propellants shortly thereafter.It is a .44-40 round necked down to a bullet that is actually .401
caliber.It is primarily a round
for lever-action rifles and revolvers.No rifles have been chambered for this caliber by major manufacturers
since 1937, though it was once a very popular medium-power cartridge.Present factory loads are designed for revolvers, and handloading is
necessary for full performance in rifles.The .38-40 Winchester is best used as a varmint round, as its range is
unspectacular and its striking power not great.

Other Names:
.38-40 Winchester Centerfire, .38-40 WCF

Nominal Size:
10x33mm

Actual Size:
10.18x33.02mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 3.36 kg
per box of 100; Price: $108 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.027 kg

.40 BSA

Notes: Like the
.33 and .26 BSA rounds, the .40 BSA round was introduced in 1921 by BSA for its
sporting rifle based on the 1914 Enfield rifle.Essentially a larger version of the other two BSA proprietary cartridges,
it suffered from the same deficiencies, and was also withdrawn quickly (along
with the rifle that fired it).It
is now the province primarily of handloaders.

Other Names: .40
Belted Rimless, .400 BSA

Nominal Size:
10.16x61mm

Actual Size:
10.39x60.96mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 5.69 kg
per box of 100; Price: $207 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.052 kg

5-round Clip: 0.26 kg

.40-50 Sharps Straight

Notes:
Introduced in 1879, this was the smallest round Sharps made.It is almost exclusively a blackpowder round, but Cordite propellant
versions have been made through the years, almost always handloaded and loaded
very lightly due to the thin walls of the case.No one makes this round anymore, except for handloaders, but cases are
made by Buffalo Arms, and serviceable cases can also be made from the .30-40
Krag case.The bullet of this round
is normally paper-patched.

Nominal Size:
10.2x48mm

Actual Size:
10.24x47.75mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 3.47 kg
per box of 100; Price: $126 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.032 kg

.40-60 Marlin

Notes: The
.40-60 Marlin is an old cartridge that began life as a blackpowder cartridge and
later switched to modern propellants, and few rifles are chambered for .40-60
Marlin today.It was originally
designed for the Marlin 1881 and 1895 lever-action rifles; they used the same
basic design as the Winchester 1893 and 1894, but used a chamber which was
larger and longer.The .40-60
Marlin appears to be the same case as that of the .40-65 Winchester, but with a
different powder loading and heavier bullet.Therefore, the .40-60 Marlin and .40-65 Winchester are interchangeable in
most rifles, though a Marlin rifle’s performance will suffer if firing a .40-65
Winchester and vice versa.Take
care not to mix up the .40-60 Marlin and .40-60 Winchester; they are nearly the
same dimensions, but neither will cycle in rifles designed for the other.The .40-60 Marlin is now manufactured on an on-off basis for rifles
designed for it and still in use, like the Colt New Lightning.However, handloading can be done using trimmed .45-70 cases and most
.40-caliber rifle bullets of 260 grains in weight.

Nominal Size:
10x54mm

Actual Size:
10.24x53.59mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 4.41 kg
per box; Price: $141 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.035 kg

.40-60 Maynard

Notes: This
round was designed specifically for the Maynard Model 10, 12, and 13 Hunting
rifles and the Model 15 and 16 Target rifles.It was originally a long-range blackpowder round, but some were later
loaded with a lighter charge of Cordite.Unfortunately, the performance of the .40-70 Maynard was almost identical
to the similar Marlin, Sharps, and Winchester rounds of the time, and therefore
never had a chance to become popular or widely-used.No one makes cases, bullets, or complete rounds of this type anymore, but
cases can be made from .303 British cases, and bullets handmade.

Other Names:
.40-60 Maynard 1882

Nominal Size:
10.6x70mm

Actual Size:
10.59x69.85mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.41 kg
per box of 100; Price: $196 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.049 kg

.40-60 Winchester Centerfire

Notes: Largely
considered obsolete, the .40-60 Winchester Centerfire round is still chambered
in a limited quantity of rifles. Therefore, small lots are still being made by
Winchester as well as some other manufacturers.The round is bottlenecked and carries a fairly heavy bullet, giving it
decent power though deficient penetration.The .40-60 Winchester Centerfire round was originally a blackpowder round
that later was used with modern propellants, and was popular in its day, though
it was later surpassed by the .45-70 Government round and other rounds.

Other Names:
.40-60 Winchester

Nominal Size:
10.3x48mm

Actual Size:
10.26x47.5mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 4.91 kg
per box of 100; Price: $79 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.039 kg

11-round box: 0.74 kg

.40-65 Winchester

Notes: This
round was originally introduced in 1887 as the .40-65 Winchester & Marlin; it
could be had in both blackpowder and modern propellant loadings.It’s first use was in the Winchester 1886 rifle; Marlin did not have a
rifle for the round until 1895.The
.40-65 Winchester round was produced in large numbers at first, but these number
steadily decreased; it’s last catalog listing by any major ammunition
manufacturer was by Winchester in 1935.Today, small lots are manufactured by several ammo manufacturers,
primarily to satisfy the owners of rifles that chamber the .40-65 Winchester.In real-like costs, this means that the round is expensive.Handloading can be done using .45-70 Government cases as a start and
using 260-grain or 300-grain .40-caliber rifle bullets.

Other Names:
.40-65 Winchester & Marlin

Nominal Size:
10.3x53mm

Actual Size:
10.31x53.34mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 4.45 kg
per box of 100; Price: $142 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.036 kg

.40-70 Sharps Straight

Notes: This is
an update of an earlier blackpowder round, the .40-65 Sharps.It’s essentially the same case with a larger powder load; at it’s
introduction, it was, in fact a blackpowder load, though it later made the jump
to smokeless powder.Sharps,
Remington and Winchester all made single-shot rifles around the time of the
cartridge’s introduction, though currently only Shiloh Sharps makes rifles
chambered in .40-70 Sharps Straight.Ballistically, it’s about equivalent to a dozen rounds of about the same
caliber and powder load, though the heavy 330-grain and 370-grain bullets means
that damage is only average and penetration a little deficient.The round-nosed soft-lead bullets don’t help with penetration.Small lots are made by several small ammunition manufacturers, but
handloaders often find the making of .40-70 Sharps Straight rounds difficult.

Nominal Size:
10.2x48mm

Actual Size:
10.24x47.75mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 3.94 kg
per box of 100; Price: $126 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.032 kg

.40-70 Winchester

Notes: This is
another round first designed for use in the Winchester 1886 rifle, but later
chambered in other rifles, most notably those of Marlin.It was introduced in 1895 as a modern-propellant cartridge, but failed to
gain a wide following and was never produced at more than a low rate through the
years.Winchester, the last major
ammunition company to produce it, dropped it in 1935, at which point Winchester
was producing only small numbers of the .40-70 round.The .40-70 round is basically a necked-out version of Winchester’s .38-40
round, using a larger, heavier bullet with a propellant charge virtually
unchanged from that of the .38-40; it packed, however, a powerful punch, though
a strong recoil.The .40-70 round
is sometimes confused with the .40-72 round, but the .40-72 Winchester will not
chamber in a weapon chambered for .40-70 and vice versa.Handloaders can make .40-70 cases from .45-70 cases, though the neck
would be short and close attention to detail will be required; a better bet is
raw .45 Basic cases.Attention must
also be made to the fact that the bullet is a bit larger than .40-caliber.

Nominal Size:
10.3x61mm

Actual Size:
10.29x60.96mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 6.34 kg
per box of 100; Price: $203 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.051 kg

.40-72 Winchester

Notes: This was
another round specifically designed for the Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle,
and it was discontinued when the rifle was in 1936.It was never a popular round, and not nearly as powerful as company
literature would seem to indicate.
Like the .38-72, it is very difficult to handload, and very rare these days.

Nominal Size:
10.3x66mm

Actual Size:
10.31x66.04mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.51 kg
per box of 100; Price: $176 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.044 kg

5-round clip: 0.22 kg

.40-82 Winchester

Notes:
Introduced in 1885 for a Winchester single-shot rifle of the time, the .40-82
was also used in the Winchester 1886 lever-action rifle.It began as a blackpowder round, but was popular enough at the time to
make the jump to smokeless powder.
However, its popularity slowly waned, and by 1935, Winchester, the last major
ammunition maker to make the .40-82, had dropped from its catalog.Today, rifles chambered for .40-82 are seldom encountered and the rounds
are made in very small lots when they are manufactured at all.The .40-82 is, therefore, more in the realm of handloaders.Handloaders find making the .40-82 difficult, with a procedure similar to
that of the .40-70 Winchester. Nonetheless, the .40-82 packs a decent punch,
adequate for most North American game as well as human beings.

Other Names:
.40-82 Winchester Centerfire, .40-82 WCF

Nominal Size:
10.3x61mm

Actual Size:
10.31x60.96mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 6.36 kg
per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.051 kg

.40-90 Sharps Straight

Notes: Oddly,
though this cartridge was introduced in 1885, and Sharps rifles were chambered
for it, it did not appear in any Sharps catalogs until recent Shiloh Sharps
catalogs.Though Winchester made
case lots in its time, currently only small lots are made by small ammunition
manufacturers.The .40-90 Sharps
Straight case was a type of case called an “Everlasting” case, meaning basically
that it was up to today’s standards and able to take repeated reloadings.The case walls were, in fact, so heavy that powder loads were reduced
over similar-sized rounds.
Handloaders will find that the .40-90 Ballard cases are virtually identical
except for the length.Performance
and penetration were average for such a round, as was range.

Other Names:
.40-90 Sharps

Nominal Size:
10.2x83mm

Actual Size:
10.24x82.55mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 6.8 kg per
box of 100; Price: $218 kg per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.054 kg

.44-40 Winchester

Notes: This is a
very old cartridge that was originally designed for the Winchester Model 1873
lever-action rifle.Virtually every
American firearms manufacturer has offered a weapon in this caliber at some
point in its history.It is said
that the round has killed more game and people than any other in American
history.This round was originally
a blackpowder round, but it has not been loaded with black powder in some time
(except by certain firearms enthusiasts).The round has decent range, but the trajectory is not very flat at ranges
above 100 meters.

Other Names: .44
Winchester Centerfire, .44 Winchester

Nominal Size:
10.8x33.8mm

Actual Size:
10.9x33.27mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:31 kg per case of 1000; Price: $500 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.025 kg

.44-77 Sharps & Remington

Notes:The .44-77 Sharps & Remington round was originally a blackpowder round,
but did not stay that way for long, as modern propellants became available
fairly soon thereafter and it was converted to this propellant.Introduced specifically for the Model 1869 Sharps rifle, it was soon
adapted to a number of other rifles and became a popular target round in the
late 1800s and early 1900s (in fact, it was used more for target shooting than
hunting).Though it is not
confirmed, the .44-77 is said to be a combination of a modified .42 Russian case
and a .43 Spanish bullet; the case is slightly necked (bottlenecked) and the
bullet is flat-nosed.Remington
still makes factory loads for this round, but it is still a rather rare round.

Notes:
Introduced in 2014, the .45 Raptor was designed to solve perceived deficiencies
with rounds like the .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, and .50 Beowulf – most notably
to provide a flatter trajectory and better ballistic coefficient than those
rounds.The bullet is markedly
lither than the bullets of the aforementioned rounds, and therefore achieves
higher velocities, but at the cost of bullet stability.However, rifles designed or modified to chamber the .45 Raptor can
reliably feed and use hollow-point bullets, something most rifles cannot do. The
round is basically an elongated pistol cartridge, like the .50 Beowulf.The .45 Raptor has a very flat trajectory out to about 200 meters.The round is considered proprietary; North American Sportsman has a
trademark on the term “Raptor” as it relates to ammunition.Factory bullets are still made in small lots and have bullets ranging
from 160-325 grains.

The .45 Raptor
mimics the size of the .460 Smith & Wesson Magnum; in fact, loading dies and
brass from the .460 S&W Magnum can be used to form the .45 Raptor case, and .460
S&W Magnum bullets can be used in handloading the .45 Raptor.The .45 Raptor uses a rimless design that allows it to feed reliably in
semiautomatic rifles.Rifles can be
modified by installing a new barrel and extension, and modifying the magazines
by shortening the follower and installing an insert that includes the feed ramp.Curved magazines currently cannot be used with the .45 Raptor, and
available inserts do not fit in curved magazines.Magazine capacity is not altered.

Nominal Size:
11.5x46mm

Actual Size:
11.68x45.72mm

Weight: 39.2 kg
per box of 100; Price: $157 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.039 kg

5-round box: 0.38 kg

10-round box: 0.68 kg

20-round box: 1.28 kg

.45-70 Government

Notes: This
round was developed for the US military and adopted by them in 1873.After its replacement by the .30-40 Krag in 1892, its popularity took off
as a civilian cartridge, especially in single-shot rolling-block-type rifles.The .45-70 also continued in US military service well beyond 1900.American companies stopped producing the .45-70 in the 1930s, leaving it
in the hands of handloaders, but recently it has staged a comeback with the
popularity of Cowboy shooting, and factory loads are being made again.The unfortunate problem with the .45-70 is range and its curving
trajectory beyond 150 meters.

Notes: The
.45-75 Winchester Centerfire was introduced along with the Winchester 1876 lever
action rifle; the rifle was itself an enlarged version of the Winchester 1873
rifle.The cartridge is a
bottlenecked case that was shorter and fatter than the .45-70 Government.The round has more power than the ,45-70 Government, though it does not
have the range of that cartridge.
The round was designed to protect homesteads from robbers, and was therefore
designed to be a man-killer from its inception.The action of the Winchester 1876 was not particularly strong, so the
.45-75 Winchester was usually :sub-loaded” at its inception; later versions have
full-power .45-75 Winchester Centerfire rounds.The round is considered inferior for African game, but adequate for North
American game; Teddy Roosevelt is said to have favored the ,45-75 Winchester
Centerfire round against Grizzlies, as its rifle allows for quick follow-up
shots.

Other Names:
.45-75 Winchester, .45-75 Winchester Centennial

Nominal Size:
11.5x48mm

Actual Size:
11.53x48.01mm

Case type:
Necked

Weight: 6.26 kg
per box of 100; Price: $100 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.05 kg

8-round box: 0.72 kg

.45-90 Sharps

Notes: This is
one of several rounds developed for .45-caliber Sharps rifles, in various case
lengths.The .45 Sharps rounds
typically used soft lead bullets and blackpowder charges; however, more modern
bullets and loads were developed later on at various points in history.This round is primarily used today by the Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts;
most are handloaded, though every so often some company makes some factory
loads.

Other Names:
.45-90 Sharps Straight

Nominal Size:
11.6x53mm

Actual Size:
11.63x53.34mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.66 kg
per box of 100; Price: $182 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.045 kg

.45-90 Winchester

Notes: The
.45-90 Winchester is sort of an attempt to make the .45-70 Government cartridge
more powerful; the case is longer, the propellant charge larger, and the bullet
lighter by a very small amount.
However, damage and penetration are about the same as the .45-70, and range is
even less, by a small amount.This
is probably why the .45-90, introduced in 1886, was not chambered in many
rifles, and why production stopped not long after the switch to modern
propellants.Today, only small runs
are made by smaller ammunition manufacturers, and by handloaders.

Other Names:
.45-90 Winchester Centerfire, .45-90 WCF

Nominal Size:
11.6x61mm

Actual Size:
11.61x60.96mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 6.45 kg
per box of 100; Price: $206 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.052 kg

.45-100 Sharps

Notes: This is
basically a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps round, and the comments for the
.45-90 Sharps apply to the .45-100.

Other Names:
.45-100 Sharps (Straight)

Nominal Size:
11.6x66mm

Actual Size:
11.63x66.04mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 7.01 kg
per box of 100; Price: $224 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.056 kg

.45-110 Sharps

Notes: This is
basically a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps round, and the comments for the
.45-90 Sharps apply to the .45-110.

Other Names:
.45-110 Sharps (Straight)

Nominal Size:
11.6x70mm

Actual Size:
11.63x69.85mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 7.43 kg
per box of 100; Price: $238 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.059 kg

.45-120 Sharps

Notes: Though in
some ways this round may be thought of as a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps,
the .45-120 actually has thicker walls to contain the much more powerful
propellant charge.The round did
not have a particularly long lifetime, since the Sharps Rifle Company failed in
1881, though several other rifles were chambered for the round.Most rounds after that point were handloaded, but in 1991-1992 the
Eldorado Cartridge Company made a run of cases and factory loads, primarily for
the Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts.It
is rare to find a .45-120 Sharps round using modern propellants, though it is
not unknown.Even in blackpowder
form, it is a quite powerful round for a straight-walled cartridge.

Other Names:
.45-120 Sharps (Straight), .45-120 Sharps 3 1/4”

Nominal Size:
11.6x82mm

Actual Size:
11.63x82.55mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 8.78 kg
per box of 100; Price: $280 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.07 kg

.50 Browning Machinegun

Notes: This
round was originally designed as an antitank rifle round in 1918.The antitank rifle was quickly dropped, but John Browning designed a
heavy machinegun around it instead.
This weapon and several other companion pieces, as well as several other
machineguns firing the same round, have formed the mainstay of Western heavy
machineguns ever since.The .50
Browning Machinegun round is a huge, cigar-sized round that is effective against
personnel and light armored vehicles.Recently, the round has been used in heavy sniper and antimaterial
rifles, to great effect.It is also
regarded as a quasi-sporting round, normally used in long-range target
competitions.It can be used to
take down everything from people to aircraft.

A SLAP (Saboted
Light Armor Penetrator) version of the .50 Browning Machinegun round is
available.Double all prices for
this round.A match-quality round
is also available; multiply all prices for this round by five.A subsonic version of this cartridge is available; triple all prices.

Notes:The .50 Beowulf is a large, straight-walled round with a rebated rim;
some say the .50 Beowulf looks like a long, fat pistol round.It is, in fact, a larger cousin to the .50 Action Express round. The
genesis of the .50 Beowulf was during Operation Iraqi Freedom; US troops had a
hard time to stop cars with drivers bent on martyrdom and filled with
explosives.The standard US GI
round, the 5.56mm NATO, was completely inadequate to stop a charging car; even
7.62mm NATO rounds had trouble.
Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms therefore designed a large, powerful, heavy
round which could be fired from modified M16s (and fit in their magazines), but
reliably cause stopping damage to engine blocks and fire through firewalls and
dashboards to kill the driver within.Though the .50 Beowulf was never adopted by US troops, a few prototypes
were sent to Iraq, where they got good reviews from the troops manning
barricades.The rebated rim of the
.50 Beowulf is sized to fit rifles designed for 5.56mm, 7.62mm Kalashnikov, and
6.5mm Grendel rounds.Smaller
rounds require a change in bolts, as the standard bolt face size used on .50
Beowulf rifles is the same as the 7.62mm Kalashnikov. The .50 Beowulf is rated
for full-automatic fire.The .50
Beowulf has poor performance at long to extreme ranges; however, it was not
designed as a standard combat round, meant only to stop vehicles and suicide
bombers at short to medium ranges, where its superior stopping and penetrative
powers excel.Reportedly, special
operations forces had had some use of rifles firing the round, noting its
ability to fire through walls and doors.

The .50 Beowulf
is a proprietary caliber, made only by a few manufacturers licensed by Alexander
Arms, and fired only in rifles whose makers have such a license or pay royalties
to Alexander Arms.Alexander
Arms licensees have to swear a secrecy agreement about the round, and this
reluctance to divulge information about the round is a constant irritation to
writers, handloaders and weapon designers.Normal bullet weights range from 300 and 500 grains, with 400-grain
rounds preferred by Alexander Arms for their finished rifles. Information about
dimensions, case lengths, amount of powder used with different-weight bullets,
and suchlike is all difficult to come by.

The .50 Beowulf
is now gaining acceptance for use as a sporting round, able to stop the largest
of North American animals like the Grizzly Bear, Moose, and Polar Bear.At short to medium range, the .50 Beowulf duplicates the ballistics of
the .45-70 Government, though in a much shorter-action format.It is more powerful than most rifled slugs or sabot slugs utilized by
shotgun hunters.

Nominal Size:
12.7x42mm

Actual Size:
12.7x42.04mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 48.1 kg
per box of 100; Price: $192 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.048 kg

7-round box: 0.62 kg

10-round box: 0.84 kg

12-round box: 0.99 kg

16-round box: 1.28 kg

.50 DTC-EDM Spec

Notes:The .50 DTC-EDM originated as a French round that was designed to comply
with European legislation which bans all rifles that fire .50 BMG.Since the nominal diameter of the round is .510, EDM hit upon this round
to skirt the law in some jurisdictions like California which ban .50 caliber
weapons.Due to a loophole in the
laws in almost all of these jurisdictions, the .50 BMG and other .50/12.7mm are
illegal, but a .510 round is not, giving shooters a .50-caliber-like round is a
somewhat different package.(It is
unlikely that if these bans were not in place in Europe and the US that the .50
DTC-EDM round would have ever been designed.)The .50 DTC-EDM uses the same bullet as the .50 BMG round, but the case
dimensions are different, most notably in the thicker case walls which give the
.50 DTC-EDM its extra diameter in a legal sense.In addition, there are minor differences in case length and the shoulder
angle. In fact, .50 DTC-EDM cases can be made by shortening and then
fire-forming .50 BMG cases.
However, rifles designed for the .50 BMG cannot safely fire .50 DTC-EDM rounds
and vice versa.

Other Names:
.510 DTC Europ, .50 DTC Europe

Nominal Size:
12.95x97mm

Actual Size:
12.96x96.8mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 12.77 kg
per box of 100; Price: $639 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.128 kg

5-round box: 1.25 kg

.50-70 Government

Notes: This
cartridge was the standard US Army round from 1866-73, and was originally a
blackpowder round.It is a
centerfire round which is a modified form of the .50-60-400 Joslyn Rimfire
round, and was the first centerfire round used by the US military.It was replaced in the US military by the .45-70 Government round in
1873, but continued to be used by some civilians until the turn of the 20th
century, as it is quite effective on buffalo and other large game.Some collectors still use the round, but it is always found as a handload
as no company currently manufactures the .50-70 Government, and haven’t since
the 1940s.However, with the rise
of Cowboy Action shooting, cases are starting to be manufactured again, along
with weapons which chamber the round, and it probably won’t be long before
complete rounds are again manufactured.

Other Names:
.50-70 Musket

Nominal Size:
13x44mm

Actual Size:
13x43.69mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:5.1 kg per box of 100; Price: $186 per box of 100

Magazines:

Per round: 0.046 kg

.50-70 Maynard

Notes: The
.50-70 Maynard round (at that time called the .50-70 Sharps) was introduced in
1872 along with three longer versions of the cartridge (.50-90, .50-100, and
.50-110).It was a blackpowder
round at the time, but soon converted to modern propellants.It was designed specifically for buffalo hunting, and meant to be the
short-range version of the .50-70 family.Production of the round was later taken over by the Maynard company, but
was discontinued in the mid 20th century.Currently, about the only way to get a .50-70 Maynard round is to find
someone who handloads it or do it yourself; though cases are still manufactured
and readily available, complete rounds are not.

Other Names:
.50-70 Sharps, Big Fifty, Poison-Slinger

Nominal Size:
13x48mm

Actual Size:
13.06x47.75mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.63 kg
per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.051 kg

.50-90 Sharps

Notes:
Essentially the same round as the .50-110 Sharps listed below but with a shorter
case and less propellant; the .50-90 Sharps was also originally a blackpowder
round, later switched to smokeless propellant.It was originally designed for buffalo hunting.(Though the .50-110 was also designed for buffalo hunting, it was
somewhat delayed in mass production, and by the time the .50-110 arrived on the
scene in large numbers, the heyday of buffalo hunting was over.)The .50-90 uses the same bullet as the .50-110.As with the .50-110, the .50-90 is not available in factory loads, except
by special order from Sharps, but bullet molds are made by Lyman, and cases are
available from several companies.

Other Names: Big
Fifty, Poison-Slinger

Nominal Size:
13x63.5mm

Actual Size:
12.93x63.5mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 7.34 kg
per box of 100; Price: $267 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.067 kg

.50-95 Winchester Centerfire

Notes: The
.50-95 Winchester Centerfire was originally introduced as a chambering option
for the Winchester 1876 Centennial rifle, and was the largest chambering for
that particular rifle.It was
introduced in 1879.It proved to be
less than popular, and had a rather short production span.The .50-95 Winchester Centerfire did gain a small following among buffalo
hunters of the period, though it is only a marginal round for taking down
buffalo, though it is quite capable of taking down a man.Today, only a very few rifles are chambered in this caliber (such as
Chaparral’s Reproduction of the Winchester 1873), and only small lots are made
by manufacturers.The .50-95
Winchester Centerfire round is more in the realm of handloaders these days,
using shortened .348 Winchester shells or shells from the .50-90 Sharps.

Other Names:
.50-95 Winchester, .50-95 Winchester Express

Nominal Size:
13x49mm

Actual Size:
13.03x49.28mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 6.58 kg
per box of 100; Price: $210 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.053 kg

.50-110 Sharps

Notes:
Introduced along with two shorter rounds (the .50-90 and .50-100) in 1872, the
.50-110 Sharps and its shorter relatives were designed to be more powerful
version of the .50-70 Sharps (.50-70 Maynard, above), and meant specifically for
long-range buffalo hunting.It was
originally a blackpowder round, but was later offered in limited quantities with
Cordite propellant.This round is
not available in factory loads, except by special order from Sharps, but bullet
molds are made by Lyman, and cases are available from several companies.

Notes: The .55
Boys originated, like the .50 Browning Machinegun round, as an antitank round in
between World War 1 and 2, to be used with an experimental antitank rifle by
Captain Boys of the British Small Arms Committee.Needless to say, the rifle which became the Boys Antitank Rifle was
basically obsolete before design work on it even began in the mid-1930s, as was
the .55 Boys round in its intended purpose, and it was replaced by the PIAT in
1940.Though essentially useless in
its intended role, the .55 Boys did make an admirable manstopper, though actual
sniping and antimaterial use of the Boys Antitank Rifle was in fact quite small.

The .55 Boys
uses a belted cartridge (one of the few to actually be used by modern military
forces of any country); the bullet used a steel-cored copper-jacketed bullet.The .55 Boys round is believed to have been adapted from an unspecified
high-power civilian hunting rifle cartridge of the period (though some say it is
a modified .50 Browning Machinegun round), which is the probable reason for it
being a belted round.However, the
design of this belted round allowed the .55 Boys to be loaded with a large
propellant charge and withstand very high pressures.Later, a tungsten-cored version with the bullet jacked inside hard
plastic was developed, giving the round even greater penetration (though still
basically useless against most armored vehicles); this round was known as the W
Mk 2 ACPR .55 round.This round, if
you can find it, will cost five times the normal
Twilight 2000 v2.2 price listed
below.

Like the rifle
itself, .55 Boys rounds are as scarce as hens’ teeth.Most .55 Boys ammunition found today is handloaded (almost always
modified from .50 Browning Machinegun brass), and is almost always of the
steel-cored variety (or even without the steel core).Modern analogues of the ACPR round are next to impossible to find
handloaded.Original .55 Boys
ammunition (as with the rifle and even the magazines) will fetch extremely high
real-life prices on the international market (hundreds of times greater than the
Twilight 2000 price presented here).

Notes:One of the oldest rifle cartridges in existence, the .56-50 Spencer is an
improved and lengthened form of the .56-46 Spencer, which was designed for the
Spencer Carbine (which arrived too late for the Civil War).This version of the Spencer cartridge was first fielded shortly after the
Civil War as a blackpowder round, but was later switched to Cordite for a
propellant.It, along with rifles
firing the .56-50 and 56-52 Spencer, was issued widely to US troops fighting
Native American tribes in the West.
The rifles did were not in US military service for long, but they remained
popular in civilian hands until the early 1920s, and factory-made rounds were
made by Springfield and Remington until at least 1920.Taylor’s & Company currently loads small lots of both blackpowder and
smokeless powder versions of the .56-50 Spencer, for use in its replicas and for
use by Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts and collectors.Handloaded versions are just as common however.The .56-50 Spencer is considered a decent deer-hunting cartridge, but was
never really considered an adequate man-stopper.

Notes: Designed
by Jeffery in 1902, the .400 Jeffery was a longer, improved version of an older
blackpowder round, the .450-400 Nitro Express 3 1/4-inch.It was designed exclusively for modern propellants, and never used
blackpowder propellant.It was a
very popular round until the advent of the .375 H&H Magnum, which offers similar
performance in a lighter round.The
.400 Jeffery, however, does offer slightly better performance than the .375 H&H
Magnum, especially in the area of damaging potential.Like most of the heavy rounds of this period, the .400 Jeffery was
designed for hunting large African game, and is generally overpowered for even
large game on other continents.
Currently, A-Square is the only company still manufacturing .400 Jeffery
ammunition, though bullets are still available from Barnes and Woodleigh, and
cases are available from Bertram which can be used to form a .400 Jeffery case
with little difficulty.Rifles
which fire the round are, however, becoming more and more scarce.

Notes: Invented
by John Howard “Pondoro: Taylor to provide a cartridge with the power of the
.416 Rigby but with less kick, the .400 Pondoro is essentially a necked-down
version of the .416 Rigby.The
result is a round that has the sheer power of the .416 Rigby while keeping the
range and flat trajectory.Recoil
is only a little less than the .416 Rigby, and legible in most cases in game
terms.The .400 Pondoro is
perfectly adequate for most African game, and some North American game.It is certainly a man-stopper.Though small lots are made by manufacturers now and again, most work on
the .400 Pondoro is done by handloaders.

Nominal Size:
10.2x76mm

Actual Size:
10.16x76.2mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 7.73 kg
per box of 100; Price: $247 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.062 kg

.401 Winchester Self-Loading

Notes:This round was developed to be fired from the Winchester Model 1910
rifle, a modification of the Model 1907.The cartridge was discontinued by Winchester in 1936, but other companies
continued to make the .401 Winchester Self-Loading until after World War 2.The .401 Winchester Self-Loading is the most powerful of Winchester’s
“Self-Loading” line of cartridges, and the only one of them useful against
medium game.It can be a bit tricky
to handload, but not too difficult.

Other Names:
.401 WSL, .401 Winchester Auto

Nominal Size:
10.3x63mm

Actual Size:
10.31x63.5mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.3 kg
per box of 100; Price: $170 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.042 kg

4-round box: 0.35 kg

.404 Dakota Magnum

Notes: Developed
from the .404 Jeffery cartridge, the .404 Dakota Magnum has a different case
shape than the .404 Jeffery and is loaded a bit more heavily then the .404
Jeffery – yielding more velocity at a lower chamber pressure than the round the
.404 Dakota Magnum was actually meant to compete with, the .416 Rigby.This makes it an excellent big-game hunting cartridge, for large game all
over the world.It is found mostly
as a proprietary cartridge in Dakota rifles, though some other makes of rifle
also fire it.The round is readily
available from Dakota Arms.

Other Names:
.404 Dakota

Nominal Size:
10.26x73mm

Actual Size:
10.72x72.9mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 81.63 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $3270 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.065 kg

.404 Jeffery

Notes: This
round was introduced in 1909, and was extremely popular for decades.It slowly declined in popularity over more decades, and almost
disappeared completely.In 1993,
Dynamit Nobel decided to manufacture the .404 Jeffrey again, and Ruger chambered
a version of its M-77 rifle for it.
A Canadian company named NASS also announced plans to manufacture the .404
Jeffery, along with Dakota Arms in the US, and with Norma, RWS, and Bertram
making cases.The .404 Jeffery was
designed specifically for bolt-action rifles.Modern loads generally use heavier bullets and more propellant than the
original specifications called for.
It is a good general purpose game cartridge, able to take down medium and heavy
game, but is overpowered for light game.

Other Names:
.404 Rimless Nitro Express, 10.75x73mm

Nominal Size:
10.75x73mm

Actual Size:
10.72x72.9mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 81.63 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $3270 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.065 kg

4-round box: 0.54 kg

5-round box: 0.64 kg

.405 Winchester

Notes: This
round was developed for the Winchester Model 1895 lever-action rifle, and that
rifle was first chambered for the .405 Winchester in 1904.It was also chambered in a few other rifles, and Theodore Roosevelt was
said to be quite fond of this round and Model 1895 rifle.Winchester stopped producing the round in 1936, but A-Square recently
began producing it in small amounts.The .405 Winchester is perhaps the most powerful rimmed cartridge ever
produced, and one of the most powerful straight-walled cartridges.The bullet is short, fat, and round-nosed, and loses velocity rapidly,
making for poor range and penetration relative to its size.
Handloading is said to be very
difficult.

Nominal Size:
10.5x65mm

Actual Size:
10.46x65.53mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.63 kg
per box of 100; Price: $180 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.045 kg

5-round clip: 0.23 kg

.408 CheyTac

Notes: Designed
specifically for use with Cheyenne Tactical’s LRRS-Intervention heavy sniper
rifle series (introduced in 2001), the .408 CheyTac is essentially a British
.505 Gibbs case necked down to accept a smaller bullet along with a slight
redesign of the case itself.This
was done for the same reasons such a thing is normally done, in order to put a
heavy propellant charge behind a smaller bullet, producing a faster bullet with
a flatter trajectory and greater range and penetration.Cheyenne Tactical is also reputedly trying to sell a redesign of the M-60
GPMG chambered for this round.The
round falls in power approximately in between the 7.62mm NATO and .50 Browning
Machinegun, without being unduly heavy.The cases are actually made by a small German company named THEIS, while
the bullets are made by Lost River High Energy Technologies
of Idaho.(Sierra is also soon
going to be making these bullets in two weights.)

Though not
currently available, steel-cored AP ammunition is projected for the .408 CheyTac
round.Double all prices for this
type of round.

Twilight 2000
Notes: The .408 CheyTac round does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Other Names:
.408 Cheyenne Tactical

Nominal Size:
10.4x80mm

Actual Size:
10.36x80.01mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 16.5 kg
per box of 100; Price: $1500 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.15 kg

5-round box: 1.47 kg

.416 Barrett

Notes:The .416 Barrett started as a wildcat redesign of the .50 BMG round, at
the request of the Crane NSWC at the behalf of SEAL teams and Coast Guard
interdiction shooters. The round was progressively modified for superior speed,
range, damage potential, and armor penetration, as well as being able to keep
supersonic speeds for as long as possible during its flight, producing a flatter
trajectory than a .50 BMG.The .416
Barrett was initially available only in the Barrett Model 99 rifle, but the
Model 82A1 was quickly redesigned to fire the new round, and now several other
rifles chamber the .416 Barrett.
The .416 Barrett uses a 398-grain solid brass boattail spitzer bullet, which
contributes to its ballistics.At
1737 meters, the .416 Barret round is still supersonic at 960 meters per second.The SEALs have reportedly used M-99 and M-82A1 rifles to achieve hits at
2286 meters, though the performance that the SEALs get out of their equipment is
classified.

An improved
version of the .416 Barrett, the .416 Barrett MSG, is a very low-drag extreme
range bullet with a low ballistic coefficient and a 424-grain bullet of solid
brass, using a radical LD Haack profile in the nose area.Velocities at 1737 meters of 1032 meters per second have been achieved,
but the MSG round is still being tested.

Other Names:

Nominal Size:
10.6x83mm

Actual Size:
10.57x83.06mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 7.29 kg
per box of 100; Price: $365 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.073 kg

10-round box: 1.27 kg

.416 Hoffman

Notes: This
round began as a wildcat round in the late 1970s, and was later adopted by
A-Square as a proprietary cartridge.It is based on a necked-up and improved .375 H&H Magnum case.It basically duplicates the .416 Taylor and .416 Rigby, having the same
weight of bullet and fractionally more powder, though the case in not as wide as
those two rounds.

Nominal Size:
10.6x72mm

Actual Size:
10.57x72.39mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 7.94 per
box of 100; Price: $636 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.064 kg

.416 Howell

Notes: The .416
Howell has had an interesting story and development.It began as a Winchester version of the .416 Taylor round, and is thus
basically a beltless .416 Taylor with some minor dimensional differences.Winchester planned to introduce the round in 1979, but it never got off
the ground; some say it was because Winchester felt that it could not compete
with the .416 Remington Magnum round.An independent gunsmith, however, took the round and placed it into
limited production – however, the .416 Howell is still primarily in the realm of
handloaders these days.The .416
Howell basically duplicates the .416 Remington Magnum, though higher pressures
generally lead to a flatter-shooting, longer-ranged round.

Other Names:
.416 Howell Magnum, .416 Winchester Express

Nominal Size:
10.6x64mm

Actual Size:
10.57x63.5mm

Weight: 6.93 kg
per box of 100; Price: $223 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.045 kg

.416 Remington Magnum

Notes: This
round was introduced in 1988, and was the first American dangerous game
cartridge since the .458 Winchester Magnum.It is basically an 8mm Remington Magnum necked up to .416 caliber, and
uses very heavy bullets of 300-400 grains.(One unusual bullet for the .416 Remington Magnum is the 400-grain solid;
it is literally a solid brass bullet instead of being a lead bullet with a brass
jacket.)The .416 Remington has
proved to be an unexpectedly popular round, and is produced in large numbers for
a surprising amount of rifles.The
power and penetration of a rifle firing .416 Remington Magnum is exceptional,
but the recoil is too.

Nominal Size:
10.6x72mm

Actual Size:
10.57x72.39mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 79.38 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $3230 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.064 kg

5-round box: 0.62 kg

.416 Rigby

Notes: Until
recently, only about 10,000 rifles total had been made to chamber this exotic
cartridge – that’s 10,000 rifles, not 10,000 types of rifles.In 1992, Ruger added a .416 Rigby-firing rifle to its product line, and
then some other companies took up the cartridge.The cartridge was designed with African hunting in mind, and despite its
blunt-nosed profile, it is capable of taking down large animals and even
penetrating light armor.

Other Names:
.416 Rigby Magnum

Nominal Size:
10.2x74mm

Actual Size:
10.57x73.66mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight:8.08 kg per box of 100; Price:$646 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.065 kg

5-round box: 0.63 kg

.416 Taylor

Notes: This
round, introduced in 1972, is a .458 Winchester Magnum round necked down to .416
caliber, or a .338 Winchester Magnum necked up to .416 caliber.It was rumored that Remington would make the first commercial lots, but
A-Square did that instead.It is
ballistically similar to the .416 Rigby cartridge, and can handle the same sort
of game – able to handle most African game, and blow away most North American or
European game.

Other Names:
.416 Taylor Magnum

Nominal Size:
10.6x64mm

Actual Size:
10.57x63.5mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 69.63 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $1110 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.056 kg

.416 Weatherby Magnum

Notes: This is a
relatively recent Weatherby development, being introduced in 1989 on the heels
of the .416 Remington Magnum.The
.416 Weatherby Magnum is based on a larger version of the .378 Weatherby Magnum
case, and of course, has more propellant and power than the .416 Remington
Magnum (but not enough to really show up in game terms in most cases, except as
more recoil).

Nominal Size:
10.6x74mm

Actual Size:
10.57x74.17mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 8.14 per
box of 100; Price: $652 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.065 kg

.425 Express

Notes: This
round was designed by Cameron Hopkins and Whit Collins as a project to be
featured in the May 1988 issue of Guns
Magazine.The original rifle to
fire the .425 Express was designed by John French, based on a Ruger M-77 action.The round itself is a .300 Winchester Magnum case, shortened somewhat and
then necked out to the .425 Express bullet’s dimensions.It is more powerful than the .375 H&H Magnum, but less than the .458
Winchester Magnum, and fills the gap neatly, yielding excellent power and range.Since its debut, it has proven itself on African game as well as in North
America and Australia.The round
was at first available only as a handload (being essentially a wildcat at its
inception), but is now available from A-Square.

Nominal Size:
10.8x65mm

Actual Size:
10.74x64.82mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 6.46 kg
per box of 100; Price: $234 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.059 kg

.444 Marlin

Notes: The .444
Marlin round was introduced in 1964.The first rifle to chamber it was the Marlin 336 lever-action rifle, but
the Marlin 444 is where it got its fame.The .444 Marlin is basically a stretched .44 Magnum round.At short ranges, the .444 Marlin can be quite powerful, but the
straight-walled cartridge and the flat nosed-profile do not lend it to long
range.

Nominal Size:
11.3x55mm

Actual Size:
10.9x54.86mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:51.25 kg per case of 1000; Price $820 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.041 kg

.450 Ackley Magnum

Notes: This
round was one of the largest cartridges that Parker Ackley ever designed.He used a full-length H&H case and necked it up to .45 caliber.The resulting case carries a large amount of propellant and a heavy,
round-nosed bullet, but the necking-up process resulted in an almost-straight
case with a very miniscule neck.
Ackley produced the cartridges in his own company for a while, but in 1995,
factory loads became available from A-Square.The round is powerful enough, and the case shaping process weakens the
case enough, so that reloading the case is often impossible or even dangerous.

Other Names:
.450 Ackley

Nominal Size:
11.6x72mm

Actual Size:
11.63x72.39mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 76.88 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $1230 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.062 kg

.450 Bushmaster

Notes:The .450 Bushmaster was designed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, an
outfit that primarily makes custom, unusual, and customized rifles to order.The round, at first a wildcat round, received SAAMI certification and was
licensed out to Bushmaster Firearms, who have larger facilities for the
production of ammunition and rifles.It is designed to be used in standard M16 and AR-15 magazines, using a
new follower and spring and in an AR-15 upper with a minimum of modifications
(primarily to the bolt and barrel).
The round was designed to adhere to Jeff Cooper’s “Thumper” concept, and is
capable of bringing down most North American game and threat animals.LeGendre developed a limited-run round called the .45 Professional, but
Hornady, another licensee of the ammunition, wanted to shorten the case to offer
more flexibility in bullet design, shrinking the case by 19.5mm.

The .450
Bushmaster uses a high-pressure case, with an ample dose o f propellant and
heavy .452 bullets.The trajectory
is very flat out to 200 meters, but it is not meant to engage long or
extreme-range targets.Factory
rounds are now made by Bushmaster, Hornady, and Remington.

Nominal Size:
11.4x43mm

Actual Size:
11.48x43.18mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 4.47 kg
per box of 100; Price $$179 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.047 kg

4-round box: 0.37 kg

5-round box: 0.44 kg

9-round: 0.71 kg

.450 AHR

The .450 AHR
round appears to be a lengthened and blown-out ,400/.450 Nitro Express 2 3/8”
case, made to produce a “more magnum” round that still has manageable recoil,
though it failed in that respect in the rifles it was chambered for.Unfortunately, documentation on the .450 AHR round is quite rare, even on
American Hunting Rifles own web site.It appears to not be produced by any manufacturer other than AHR, and is
the primarily the province of handloaders.It has sufficient power to take down African game, moose, grizzlies and
polar bears, light vehicles, helicopters, etc.

Other Names:
.450 AHR Magnum. .450 American Hunting Rifles (rare)

Nominal Size:
11.4x73mm

Actual Size: :
11.38x73.36mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 9.33 kg per box of 100; Price: $373 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.075 kg

.450 Dakota Magnum

Notes: This was
the first Dakota design which was not based upon the .404 Jeffery case; the .450
Dakota Magnum is .416 Rigby case necked up to take a .450 bullet.The round is meant to be powerful, and can drive a 500-grain bullet at
747 meters per second without undue pressure in the chamber.Ballistically, the .450 Dakota Magnum is very similar to the .460
Weatherby Magnum, but Dakota does not recommend loading the round to the point
that the .460 Weatherby Magnum is typically loaded, because such hotloads can
make extraction difficult.It is
also similar to, but slightly more powerful than, the .458 Winchester Magnum.The typical bullet used is round-nosed and solid.Like most proprietary Dakota rounds, the .450 Dakota Magnum is produced
only by Dakota Arms, and is almost never chambered in anything but Dakota’s
rifles.

Other Names:
.450 Dakota

Nominal Size:
11.6x73mm

Actual Size:
11.63x72.9mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 85.1 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $3870 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.077 kg

4-round box: 0.64 kg

.450 Howell

Notes: the .450
Howell is basically a necked-up version of the .416 Howell, and shares that
rounds interesting development.The
result is a round that is exceptional in power and range, but was never picked
up for manufacture by any major company except in minor lots. The .450 Howell is
therefore primarily in the hands of handloaders, though some rifles have been
chambered for this round.The .450
Howell is the equal of any African game, and some tough-to-get North American or
South American game.

Other Names:
.450 Howell Magnum

Nominal Size:
11.6x64mm

Actual Size:
11.63x63.5mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 8.44 kg
per box of 100; Price: $338 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.068 kg

.450 Marlin

Notes: This
round is one of the newest Marlin cartridges, announced at the 2000 SHOT Show.It is the first new Marlin cartridge since 1964’s .444 Marlin, and was
introduced to produce a magnum cartridge for the Model 1895 lever-action rifle.(This round also required the designing of a modified version of the
Model 1895 that could take the high chamber pressures developed by the .450
Marlin.)The .450 Marlin was
developed from scratch, though many have questioned why Marlin could not have
sped up the development process by simply lengthening and increasing the
propellant charge of the .45-70 Government case, but Marlin nevertheless decided
to make the .450 Marlin from scratch.The .450 Marlin is nevertheless a powerful loading, quite capable of
stopping any North American large game in its tracks.

Twilight 2000 Notes:
The .450 Marlin round (and the rifle which fires it) is not available in the
Twilight 2000 timeline.

Nominal Size:
11.6x54mm

Actual Size:
11.63x53.09mm

Case Type:
Straight (Tapered)

Weight: 49.61 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $900 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.045 kg

4-round box: 0.37 kg

.450 Nitro Express No. 2

Notes: This
round is an improved version of an earlier round, the .500/450 Magnum Express.The .450 Nitro Express No. 2 uses a longer case than its predecessor, but
the same weight of bullet (normally a 480-grain soft-point).The round was designed for use primarily in single-shot and double-barrel
Express rifles, and is almost never found in any other sort of rifle.The longer case was used to reduce the chamber pressure, and not to allow
the loading of more propellant.The
round has a thick rim to aid in extraction.Many rifles chambered for .450 Nitro Express No. 2 are still around, but
the rounds for them are rare as few companies manufacture them.

Notes: A
relatively new round, the .450 Rigby was not introduced until 1995, and is
therefore Rigby’s newest production cartridge.It was designed specifically for hunting large game in Africa, but will
also make a mess of whatever person it hits, and is even capable of penetrating
light armor.The bullet is large
and heavy at 480 grains, and may be soft-nosed or solid.The case is basically necked-up .416 Rigby case, with a sharp shoulder.

Twilight 2000
Notes: An incredibly rare round in the Twilight 2000 timeline, the .450 Rigby is
mostly found in Britain and Some parts of Africa, and almost always handloaded.

Nominal Size:
11.6x74mm

Actual Size:
11.63x73.66mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 8.72 kg per
box of 100; Price: $794 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.079 kg

.450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8”

Notes: This
round started out as a blackpowder cartridge in 1880.It is a necked-down version of the older .450 Nitro Express 2 3/8-inch
round.By 1899, modern propellant
version were available.The
.450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8” developed far less chamber pressure than older
designs, leading to lighter rifles to fire it.Various different variations on this theme developed, using different
case lengths, some of which succeeded, and some of which didn’t.This round is no longer factory-produced, though many people do handload
it.

Other Names:
.450-400 2 3/8” BPE, .450-400 2 3/8” Nitro for BP

Nominal Size:
10.3x60mm

Actual Size:
10.34x60.45mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 5.59 kg
per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.051 kg

.450-400 Nitro Express 3 1/4”

Notes: Basically
a longer version of the .450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8”, this round also started
as a blackpowder round, but soon switched to modern propellants.There are actually two versions of this round, with different case
thicknesses.When the .450-400 3
1/4” round was switched to Cordite propellants, it was discovered that the
earlier, thinner case would often not extract properly (particularly in a dirty
or even slightly-corroded chamber), causing the rim to stick in the chamber and
pull off the round when extracted, leaving a ring of jagged brass in the
chamber.As with the 2 3/8” round,
the .450-400 3 1/4” is no longer factory-produced.

Other Names:
.450-400 3 1/4” BPE Nitro for Black

Nominal Size:
10.3x82mm

Actual Size:
10.29x82.55mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 7.55 kg
per box of 100; Price: $686 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.069 kg

.458 Lott

Notes: This
round was developed after Jack Lott, armed with a .458 Winchester Magnum-firing
rifle, was rammed (non-fatally) by an African buffalo after he had already shot
it twice.In 1971, he designed what
was essentially an improved version of the .458 Winchester Magnum, with a longer
case containing more propellant and a heavier bullet.The .458 Lott was considered a wildcat round until 2002, when Hornady
began manufacturing factory loads.
Before that point, most rifles firing .458 Lott were hand-made or modified from
existing rifles.It should be noted
that most rifles that are chambered for .458 Lott can also fire .458 Winchester
Magnum ammunition.The .458 Lott is
a hard hitting round with excellent penetration, though range suffers from its
round-nosed bullet.

Notes:The .458 SOCOM round was developed by Teppo Jutsu as a result of an
informal conversation with some members of for special operations community
(reportedly members of Delta).
Delta operators were dismayed by the apparent inability of the 5.56mm round to
drop Somali fighters hopped on adrenaline and khatt, a local plant with large
amounts of natural stimulants.
Delta expressed their wish to have a round that would bring down such fighters,
but could be used with their M16-based weapons with a minimum of modifications.

The .458 SOCOM
is a highly-modified 7.62mm Kalashnikov case, operating at low pressure and with
a heavy bullet with AP qualities and a tendency to flatten upon entering a human
body. The round was first developed into an intermediate round informally called
9mm PPC (which later became a rare round called .358 CQB), and the .338 Specter.
In addition, experience with the non-standard .458 Barnes used in Vietnam was
also drawn upon. M16-type weapons that have been modified to fire 7.62mm
Kalashnikov were already common on the marketplace, and finding a company that
would make a special version for special ops would be easy to find.(Teppo Jutsu, in fact, was the first in line for such weapons.) The round
will fit in AR-15/M-16 magazines, at a reduced capacity, and with a modified
follower.

An
armor-piercing version of the .458 SOCOM exists; double all prices below.The .458 SOCOM is naturally subsonic with 500-600-grain bullet weights,
so no special subsonic version exists; the .458 SOCOM, in fact, works well with
a suppressor.Standard bullet
weights can range from 250-600 grains; the most common weights are 250-350
grains.The .458 SOCOM has similar
ballistics to the .45-70 Government at short to medium ranges, but velocity
falls off quickly beyond this range.The .458 has not received SAAMI certification; despite this, a large
number of companies produce factory loads, including Trident, Black Butterfly,
Southern Ballistic Research, Cor-Bon, XCaliber, and Buffalo Bore.Several smaller manufactures also make small lots of .458 SOCOM.Magazines are modified 7.62mm Kalashnikov magazines; any such magazine
will work, except drums, and require only that the follower be changed.

Nominal
Size:11.6x40mm

Actual Size:
11.63x40.7mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 4.32 kg
per box of 100; Price $173 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.043 kg

3-round box: 0.29 kg

4-round box: 0.36 kg

5-round box: 0.42 kg

7-round box: 0.55 kg

10-round box: 0.75 kg

14-round box: 1.02 kg

15-round box: 1.08 kg

20-round box: 1.41 kg

27-round box: 1.88 kg

.458 Winchester Magnum

Notes: This
round was introduced in 1956 for a version of the M-70 called the African.It has since become a very popular cartridge, though limited by its size
and power and the rifles necessary to chamber it.Though round-nosed, it is capable of taking down elephants and
penetrating light armored vehicles and engine blocks.

Other Names:
.458 Winchester Belted Magnum

Nominal Size:
11.6x63.5mm

Actual Size:
11.63x63.5mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:6.75 kg per box of 100; Price:$216 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.054 kg

4-round box: 0.45 kg

5-round box: 0.53 kg

.460 Alliance

Notes.The .460 Alliance round.
Some naysayers say it’s just a redressed .458 SOCOM round, but Alliance Armament
did not have a license to use the .458 SOCOM in its rifles.The more likely story is that it uses the same bullet as a .460 S&W
Magnum, with a blown-out .300 SAUM parent case, with a propellant charge similar
to its .300 SAUM parent.The .460
Alliance was designed, at first as an experiment, as a big-bore round for 7.62mm
AK-type rifles.(They have since
begun to sell these rifles.) It was designed to be superior in power and
ballistics to rounds like the .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf, with a magnum-level
amount of propellant and a longer case.It was designed primarily for North American game at short to
medium-ranges, though some have taken the AK-derived rifles to Africa and have
had considerable success.At those
ranges, the trajectory is flat and the round can virtually ignore brush,
branches, etc.The round is not
fast, but it is heavy and armor-penetrating; a typical bullet and muzzle
velocity are 400 grains at 488 meters per second.

A secondary
consideration was for use in military units where the primary rifle is an AK but
need some shooters with a higher-level of firepower, much like the
AR-15/M16-type weapons firing .458 SOCOM or .50 Beowulf.In such cases, it produces similar results, penetrating deeply into
engine blocks or dashboards to kill the driver behind it.

A dedicated AP
version of the already armor-piercing .460 Alliance is available; double all
prices below.The .460 Alliance is
designed to be loaded into 7.62mm Kalashnikov magazines, with the change of the
follower, except for drums.
Magazine capacity is, of course, smaller.In most circles, the .460 Alliance is still considered a wildcat round,
though Alliance is making lots of them.

Nominal Size:
11.7x41mm

Actual Size:
11.68x41.14 kg

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 35.3 kg
per box of 100; Price: $141 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.0035 kg

2-round box: 0.18 kg

4-round box: 0.29 kg

8-round box: 0.51 kg

12-round box: 0.72 kg

16-round box: 0.94 kg

.460 A-Square Short

Notes: This is
another of the cartridges that Colonel Arthur Alphin developed after his run-in
with a Cape Buffalo in Africa.This
round is based on the .460 Weatherby case, with a slight neck.The cartridge is the same length as the .458 Winchester Magnum, but has
better ballistics and power.
Bullets are heavy and round-nosed, but achieve terrific velocities.However, recoil can be brutal.

Nominal Size:
11.6x64mm

Actual Size:
11.63x63.5mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 8.44 kg
per box of 100; Price: $676 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.068 kg

.460 Steyr

Notes: The .460 Steyr is
essentially a .50 Browning Machinegun round, shortened and necked down to .460
(11.63mm) from the original .50 BMG (12.96mm).It was designed by Horst Grillmayer and Guido Wasser of Steyr for their
new version of the Steyr .50 HS long-range sniper rifle. The .460 Steyr is
actually a .458 diameter round, to circumvent those jurisdictions that do not
allow “military rounds” for civilian use. The combination of a case not much
shorter than a .50 BMG case along with a smaller bullet, along with almost the
same amount of propellent, lends itself to accuracy, range, damaging potential,
and body armor (and light armored vehicle) penetration.This is coupled with the fact that a standard military .460 Steyr round
is steel-cored or tungsten cored.
(These, of course, are off-limits to civilians, so ball rounds are also made.)
The .460 round does, in fact, leave the barrel at a much higher velocity than
the .50 BMG, sometimes as high as 916 meters per second, and remains supersonic
out beyond 1000 meters. Most shooters can, with practice, fire groups at 200
meters that are 16mm or less.
Though smaller than the .50 BMG, the .460 Steyr round is still a massive 600
grains.The .460 Steyr is a
proprietary round manufactured only by Steyr; however, if you have a bullet mold
or bullets (which would have to be custom-made for a civilian), the round may be
handloaded using a .50 BMG case. Currently, the only rifle that fires the .460
Steyr round is the Steyr HS-50M1, though an experimental version of the Steyr
IWS-2000 has been tested chambered for the .460 Steyr round.

Notes: This
round was designed in 1958 to be the most powerful commercial rifle cartridge.It was made by necking up the .378 Weatherby case to accept a larger
bullet.It was, until the
commercial availability of .50-caliber-class rounds, the most powerful one you
could find on a regular basis, though limited production rounds that are more
powerful have been available for some time.

Nominal Size:
11.6x74mm

Actual Size:
11.62x73.91mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight:9.8 kg per box of 100; Price $784 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.078 kg

.470 Nitro Express

Notes: This
round, first introduced in 1907, is one of the most long-lived of the Nitro
Express cartridges.Rifles
chambered for this round are not as heavy and do not have as heavy recoil as the
heavier Nitro Express cartridges, yet still pack a pretty good wallop. Virtually
all rifles chambered for this are double rifles, and are generally pretty
expensive.The bullets are very
heavy (500-600 grains), and though blunt-nosed, have excellent penetration, and
they can bring down virtually any sort of game in the world, as well as
penetrate light armored vehicles and bring down the occasional helicopter.

Other Names:
.470 NE

Nominal Size:
12x83mm

Actual Size:
12.07x82.55mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 11.84 kg
per box of 100; Price: $948 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.095 kg

.475 A&M Magnum

Notes: This
massive round was developed in 1958 by the Atkinson and Marquart Rifle Company.It is a .378 Weatherby Magnum case necked up to .475 caliber.It is a very powerful round, but not widely known; only a few custom
rifles and even fewer commercial rifles have been chambered for .475 A&M Magnum.It is basically overpowered for North American game, and almost
overpowered for all but the largest African animals.Recoil is brutal; Frank Barnes, a noted ammunition expert and author of
Cartridges of the World, compares
firing a magazine of .475 A&M ammunition to “going a couple of rounds with the
world’s heavyweight boxing champ.”

Nominal Size:
12x74mm

Actual Size:
12.07x73.66mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 10.54 kg
per box of 100; Price: $844 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.084 kg

.475 Tremor

Notes: The .475
Tremor was designed by Tromix in 2001 as a minor chambering for its Jackhammer
assault rifle and the uppers chambered for it.It was yet another attempt to better rounds like the .50 Beowulf and .458
SOCOM; this it did in range, but produced about the same damaging potential and
somewhat less penetration. The parent cartridge is the .480 Ruger, drawn out to
produce a case and round length that will fit into a modified AR-15 magazine.Bullet weights range from 325-500 grains, but muzzle velocity is only
middlin, but faster than the .50 Beowulf or .458 SOCOM, with a flatter
trajectory.

Though the .475 Tremor
Jackhammer was quite popular for a short while, interest eventually waned and
Tromix pulled the chambering from the market. I haven’t found any reference to
the .475 Tremor round later than 2003.

Nominal Size:
12x45mm

Actual Size:
12.07x44.7mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 5.11 kg
per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.051 kg

7-round box: 0.65 kg

10-round box: 0.89 kg

15-round box: 1.28 kg

.495 A-Square

Notes: This is
another one of Col. Arthur Alphin’s cartridges designed after his run-in with a
Cape Buffalo.The original .495
A-Square cartridges were based on necked-up .460 Weatherby Magnum cases, but
they are now commercially loaded by A-Square. The bullet is quite heavy at 600
grains, but velocity is only average, and recoil is relatively low.The heavy bullet, however, make for a hard-hitting round.

Nominal Size:
13x71mm

Actual Size:
12.95x71.12mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 93.63 kg
per case of 1000; Price: $1500 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.075 kg

.499 Leitner-Wise

Notes: The .499
Leitner-Wise round was originally designed at the behest of the US Coast Guard
for use by their MSST and HITRON teams.The round was meant to do things like shoot out engines and put holes in
speedboats, under the waterline.To
accomplish this, the Coast Guard needed a round that had high penetration, high
velocity both in the air and retaining its velocity through a couple of feet of
water, and with smaller recoil and in a lighter rifle than the Barrett rifles
used by the US military at the time.At the same time, USAF Security Police were looking for a car and
truck-stopping round, similar in concept to the .50 Beowulf, but with longer
range and better ballistics, as well as better armor-piercing qualities than the
.50 Beowulf.They also wanted in a
package similar to the M16A1s they were already using (though they switched to
M16A2s during the Iraq War).

The .499
Leitner-Wise round’s parent case is the .50 Action Express round, drawn out a
bit and having gone through a redesign process.The bullet is likewise lengthened. The .499 Leitner-Wise round comes in
three flavors: a standard ball round for use against personnel, a
low-penetration round for use in CQB, and a high-penetration round for use
against cars, trucks and boats, and if necessary, shoot through walls and even
concrete.New magazines were also
designed based on existing M16A2-compatible off-the-shelf products.

The .499
Leitner-Wise, however, had a lot of problems, though many gun experts say they
were not insurmountable problems, with a little extra testing and a few fixes.
Cases sometimes blew out inside the chamber; on a few occasions, this damaged
the LW-15 rifle firing it, though most of the time the rifle remained undamaged
and the blown round could be easily ejected and a new round fed.Feeding and extraction were not a problem with the new round and rifle,
nor was performance. The Coast Guard used the round and the LW-15 rifle; though
they got good results, they considered the blown case problem potentially
dangerous to the user.(The Air
Force never had any injuries from a blown case, but considered the blown case
problem potentially dangerous to the user if a round does not fire in a tight
situation.)Both the Coast Guard
and the Air Force in the end considered the round unreliable and after a lengthy
evaluation period, decided to reject the LW-15 and its ammunition, going with
more traditional and proven designs.The round is now considered obsolete, and .499 Leitner-Wise ammunition
has not been produced for about five years; however, the rifles and uppers are
still available on the market, and the ammunition can still be found fairly
easily since the rifle did not sell well on the open market.Leitner-Wise was the only producer of the ammunition.The rifle and uppers themselves were shelved until 1998, when
Leitner-Wise decided to offer them on the open market along with the ammunition,
and produced several lots of ammunition and more rifles and uppers, hoping for
civilian sales.

Other Names:
.499 LW, .499, Mini-50

Nominal Size:
12.5x42mm

Actual
Size:12.67x44mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 44.4 kg
per box of 100; Price: $178 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.044 kg

10-round box: 0.77 kg

12-round box: 0.91 kg

60-round drum: 4.17 kg

.500 A-Square

Notes:This round was actually Col. Alphin’s first design in 1974, using the
modified .460 Weatherby Magnum case.The .500 A-Square is the backbone of the A-Square cartridge line and the
reason for forming the company.The
recoil can be quite stiff, but stopping power is incredible.

Nominal Size:
13x74mm

Actual Size:
12.95x73.66mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 121.25
kg per case of 1000; Price: $4850 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.097 kg

.500 AHR

Notes: The .500
AHR is based on the .500 Jeffrey round, lengthened and rebated.Though it throws a smaller bullet, it does so at a higher velocity,
producing tremendous power.It is
more than the equal of African game and tough North American game, and easily
surpasses the .500 Jeffery in power and range.AHR makes small lots, and handloaders make a decent amount for private
use.

Other Names:
.500 AHR Magnum, .500 American Hunting Rifles (rare)

Nominal Size:
13x73mm

Actual Size:
12.88x73.36mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 12 kg
per box of 100; Price: $480 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.096 kg

.500 Jeffery

Notes: The .500
Jeffery began as a proprietary cartridge by Schuler in Germany for certain
custom-made bolt-action rifles.
Jeffery later adapted the round to work in his Mauser-based heavy-caliber
rifles.The rim is in fact rebated
to fit the Mauser bolt face.
Ballistics and power are similar to the .505 Gibbs, though the case is shorter;
the .500 Jeffrey is loaded to a higher power and pressure.The round was designed specifically for bolt-action rifles, to give a
hunter the same power as the rounds found in heavy-caliber express rifles.Though recoil is high, the .500 Jeffery is capable of downing virtually
any sort of African game, though it is considered overpowered for North or South
American game.A-Square still makes
.500 Jeffery ammunition in small lots.

Other Names:
.500 Schuler

Nominal Size:
12.7x70mm

Actual Size:
12.95x69.85mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 9.2 kg
per box of 100; Price: $295 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.07 kg

.500 Nitro Express

Notes: This
cordite-propellant round was derived from the earlier blackpowder .500
Nitro-for-Black round.It was
introduced in the 1890s, and generally uses a huge 570-grain soft-point or solid
bullet.It is a very powerful round
designed for large African game, and is generally enough to kill almost any sort
of animal with one shot.It is
still in use by some big-game hunters, and A-Square still makes the round.

Other Names:
.500 Nitro Express 3”

Nominal Size:
13x76mm

Actual Size:
12.95x76.2mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 8.83 kg
per box of 100; Price: $322 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.08 kg

.500/416 Nitro Express

Unlike the other
Nitro Express rounds, the .500/416 was only recently developed (in the early
1990s).It was designed from the
outset as a magnum round, and is a .500 Nitro Express necked down to accept a
.416 bullet.The .500/.416 was
developed by Krieghoff to equal, if not exceed, the performance of the .416
Rigby, and chamber in rifles that will accept a .500 Nitro Express round.It pushes a huge round, soft-nosed 450-grain bullet; despite this,
penetration is good and damaging potential is equal to African game and will
make a mess out of a human. The .500/.416 has become popular in Europe for use
in single-barreled and express rifles, and case lots are made by WR Ammunition
Company.

Other Names:
.500/.416 Nitro Express 3 1/4”

Nominal Size:
10.6x76mm

Actual Size:
10.57x76.2mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 83.63
per case of 1000; Price: $3350 per case

Magazines:

Per round: 0.067 kg

.502 Thunder Sabre

Notes: The .502
Thunder Sabre round was designed specifically for the Thunder Sabre upper for
the AR-10/15, and is essentially a short-action magnum round, with a rebated rim
to allow its use with an AR 7.62mm/.308 bolt face.The design purpose was as a rifle for military and police SWAT units, as
it’s power allows it to easily shoot through even most concrete and brick walls.It appears to be another round to fall into the same market as the .50
Beowulf, and it of similar format and looks.It, like the .50 Beowulf, is essentially an overgrown pistol round,
though due the high charge of propellant it would probably not be pleasant to
fire in a revolver.The ballistics
out to 200 meters are similar to a hotloaded .45-70, though performance falls
off after that.

Reportedly, US
Special Operations troops tested the Thunder Sabre carbine; it is not known if
they ever combat-tested it or whether they still use it.Several US police departments are also known to have tested it.Most, however, went to civilians, who used it as a sort of “gee-whiz”
carbine, with perhaps some ancillary hunting use. In addition to the Thunder
Sabre rifle, Robyn Church at the Cloud Mountain Armory made a few examples of a
Universal M1 Carbine in .502 Thunder Sabre, something that most shooters think
is an insane combination.

There never was
a lot of .502 Thunder Sabre ammunition produced, as the rifle itself is rather
rare.However, every so often, a
small lot of .502 Thunder Sabre ammunition will come up on auction or otherwise
be found for sale online or in trade magazines.Reloading brass, primers, bullets and reloading dies also periodically
come up for sale.Most ammunition
for the few Thunder Sabre rifles that exist is, however, handloaded. The parent
round seems to be .50 Action Express (though this is disputed, as it takes a lot
of drawing out to produce a .502 Thunder Sabre round from .50 Action Express
brass)..50 Beowulf brass is also
useable. RL cost of the rifle and ammunition is quite expensive.If you own a Thunder Sabre carbine, you have a carbine chambered for an
obsolete cartridge.

Nominal Size:
12.75x45mm

Actual Size:
12.96x44.7mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:4.72 kg per box of 100; Price: $189 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.047 kg

4-round box: 0.39 kg

9-round box: 0.75 kg

.505 Gibbs

Notes: The .505
Gibbs was introduced in 1911 for the company’s line of Mauser-type bolt-action
rifles.The round has always been
rare, as imports of the rifles firing it were never high, and most were
custom-built.Bullets and cases for
the .505 Gibbs round are still readily available, but only A-Square actually
manufactures the complete rounds, and only in small quantities.Like most of these cartridges, the .505 Gibbs was designed specifically
for hunting African large game, but is also a more-than adequate manstopper.Original bullets come in regular ball, armor-piercing, and hollowpoint.

Other Names:
.505 Rimless

Nominal Size:
12.8x80mm

Actual Size:
12.83x80.01mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 11.37 kg
per box of 100; Price: $1034 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.103 kg

.510 Phalanx

Notes: This
round was the original chambering for the Tromix Sledgehammer rifles (though it
was later chambered for more, and more common rounds).The .510 Phalanx was designed to beat the .458 SOCOM in all aspects, and
is essentially a monster-sized pistol round in format.It is a big round, capable of tearing large holes in flesh and even in
concrete and bricks, and even penetrating light steel.Though Tromix made and sold some complete Sledgehammer rifles in .510
Phalanx, the Sledgehammer was more often bought as an upper to mate with an
AR-10 lower.The round is rebated
to fit a 7.62mm/.308 bolt face, so the AR-10’s bolt can be used.In the end, however, the .510 fell victim to market saturation and many
shooters’ reluctance to buy a rifle in a new, rare chambering (compared to other
rifles) whose cartridge could be discontinued and become obsolete and hard to
get.Feed is from modified AR-10
magazines.

Nominal Size:
12.95x51mm

Actual Size:
12.95x51.05mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 5.38 kg
per box of 100; Price: $215 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.054 kg

6-round box: 0.61 kg

12-round box: 1.1 kg

18-round box: 1.59 kg

.577 Nitro Express

Notes:This is basically the earlier blackpowder version of the .577 Nitro
Express loaded with Cordite instead of blackpowder.They come in shorter and longer-case versions, but these were eventually
dropped in favor of the 3-inch case version, which is the round referred to
here.Many say it is superior to
the .600 Nitro Express due to somewhat greater penetration (which unfortunately
cannot be simulated in game terms).
The rifles firing them are also lighter than the corresponding .600-firing
weapons.A-Square and Barnes still
make bullets for this caliber, and A-Square also makes complete factory loads.

Other Names:
.577 Nitro Express 3”

Nominal Size:
14.8x76mm

Actual Size:
14.83x76.2mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight: 11.58 kg
per box of 100; Price: $422 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.105 kg

.585 AHR

Notes: The .585
AHR appears to be an independent development in large-caliber rifle rounds, and
it is certainly a powerhouse.It is
more than capable of taking down even elephants, and can penetrate light armor
or helicopters.An antipersonnel
hit from this round would almost certainly result in death or loss of limb.Like AHR’s other rounds, only small lots are manufactured, and
considerable handloading activity is present.

Other Names: .585 AHR Magnum,
,585 American Hunting Rifles (Rare)

Nominal Size:
15x73mm

Actual Size:
14,86x73,36mm

Case Type:
Necked

Weight: 15.8 kg
per box of 100; Price $639 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.128 kg

.600 Nitro Express

Notes: This
round was the largest and most powerful of the English “elephant gun” cartridges
until 1988.Despite its power, only
a very small number of rifles have been chambered for this huge cartridge, which
is the size of a small cigar.The
.600 Nitro Express was designed specifically for hunting elephants, but is quite
adequate for other game – humans, light armor, helicopters, etc.

Nominal Size:
15.24x76mm

Actual Size:
15.75x76.2mm

Case Type:
Straight

Weight:14.85 kg per box of 100; Price: $476 per box

Magazines:

Per round: 0.119 kg

.600 Overkill

Notes: With a
name that is perhaps tongue-in-cheek, the .600 Overkill is a huge magnum round
designed specifically to be the largest round that could be fired from the
CZ-550 hunting rifle platform.It
is based on the .600 Nitro Express case, with a belt added for headspacing and a
rebated rim.The .600 Overkill was
also designed specifically for elephant hunting, a thought that gives me dismay.The CZ-550 chambered for .600 Overkill is a bit of a handful, with strong
kick and a tendency to turn out of the shooters hands due to the twist of the
bullet down the barrel.Needless to
say, lots of this ammunition produced are small, and many are made by
handloading.